Timing vital when combating a heart attack

9:45 AM,
Dec. 24, 2012

Written by

Dr. Michael Rosenberg
Ask a Doctor

Q: I've heard that if I think I'm having a heart attack I should take an aspirin. What size should I take and should I chew it or swallow it? What else should I do?

A: Chewing a 325mg aspirin gets it into your system the most quickly, according to a study published by American Journal of Cardiology.

Immediately before or after you take that aspirin, call 911 for an ambulance to drive you to the closest hospital with a cardiac catheterization lab where the blocked artery, which is most likely causing the heart attack, can be opened. ...